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Smelly and squeaking

Bubble and Squeak said:
Aaaw poor Perry.....he is gorgeous! 😍

Something that might work for you, as it has for us, is to use the Science Selective Naturals Grain Free pellets.

We had one vet telling us that Guinea Pigs and Rabbits don't need pellets (even though they had Burgess ones for sale at the surgery?!), but our vet that we mostly see (at the same place) said that they are ok in moderation.

Thankfully we haven't had bladder problems with either Bubble or Squeak, but Squeak was overweight. Mid-December he weighed 1413g, and at the moment he is around the 1264g mark. This is since we switched to the grain free. Bubble did also lose a tiny bit of weight, even though he didn't need to, but not enough to cause concern.

They both love them, and from the start of introducing them over a 2 week period, they were eating these before their previous nuggets. We give them 12 each a day.....6 in the morning, and 6 in the evening.

Squeak especially is a bit of a nugget fiend, and so I would have felt bad stopping them altogether. We did try stopping for a few days, but Squeak was getting frantic looking for them, bless him.....especially as he can't see out of his right eye, and goes around in a circle to sort himself out to look for things.....with me being a softy, it was so sad watching him, and so had to go back to feeding them nuggets!
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These are the pellets they were having. A teaspoon each in the morning which worked out about 6-8 pellets each so similar to you :)

Lola doesn’t seem bothered not having any and Perry didn’t ask this morning so I’ll keep going with none. He wasn’t a happy pig this morning though so maybe that’s why he didn’t seem bothered but he had his cucumber and some recovery food with his meds, plus a little bit of hay. He’s brightened up as the day has gone on :)
 
They are good pellets.....far better than the new style Pets At Home ones we had been using. It is good that Perry and Lola don't seem to miss them. I don't think Bubble would mind not having them, but I didn't have the heart to stop feeding them, when Squeak just loves them so much! At least the grain free ones are better for them though. Glad to hear that Perry brightened up as the day went on. Poor little chap.....hope with the meds, he is soon feeling more himself again. :)
 
Still going well :)

Does anyone know where coriander and broccoli sit calcium wise? I’m sure the vet said all herbs are high calcium but can’t remember. Broccoli I think is medium/high but not 100% :)
 
Spaniel said:
Still going well :)

Does anyone know where coriander and broccoli sit calcium wise? I’m sure the vet said all herbs are high calcium but can’t remember. Broccoli I think is medium/high but not 100% :)
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Coriander is a safe daily herb to be fed. It isn’t as high as some other herbs.
Broccoli is a higher veg.

You shouldn’t cut calcium too low though as too low is as bad as too high when it comes to bladder issues.

Personally I’d cut pellets right down/out altogether and feed veg more
 
The vet said that just hay and lettuce is balanced without taking the diet too low. Our last pig had a bladder problem at one stage so both pigs moved onto this diet and they thrived to be honest so with the two we have now, we based it on hay and lettuce and everything else was given in ‘treat’ sized amounts on rotation. So we’re disappointed that Perry has cystitis and we don’t feel like it’s his diet but rather the arthritis that started it all (couldn’t get in usual toilet position and picked up some bacteria from the build up on his penis and urine he got on himself?) We could be wrong though, I don’t know.
 
My partner thinks she might have heard Perry squeaking last night :(

He seems ok this morning but we’ll see how he gets on today. Really hope he wasn’t squeaking.
 
Haven’t heard anything else so hopefully a one off but he’s not quite as interested in his hay today so must be feeling a little off. Ate his veggies, some grass and had some recovery food too so we’re making sure he’s topped up if his hay eating is slightly down. He’s still rumbling at Lola, active and being cheeky so that’s good :)
 
There hasn’t been anymore squeaking or smell, but he’s just not completely himself :(

His metacam ends on Tuesday so we can monitor how he does without to give us a better idea if it’s his bladder or arthritis causing the main issue. It seems mean to stop metacam though. Not sure whether to just take him back to the vets sooner?

He’s not eating enough hay or using his bottle as much so he is having recovery feed. He will eat veggies and grass although we can’t get lots of grass.

He’s just a bit lacklustre I guess. It’s worrying when he’s on metacam.
 
He perked up not long after my last post and he’s been pretty good since. Noticed that he wasn’t wanting to use his water bottle so put a bowl in and he’s been mostly choosing that. He’s been out and about and eating more hay.

It’s his last day of metacam today then we need to see how he goes without, see what his bladder does and what his movement is like. We’re fairly sure it’s arthritis from watching him but we’ll monitor and then the vet wants to see him again. Feeling nervous. Wish us luck.
 
Small update - Perry has been really well since coming off metacam 9 days ago. He’s bright and happy. No signs of any bladder issues coming back and it seems like his arthritis is mild enough not to need full time metacam yet because he’s been active. One small adjustment is we now put a water bowl in so he has the choice of bowl or bottle. He uses both but is favouring the bowl so might find it easier or maybe just likes it? So far so good :)
 
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